Cupboard Under the Stairs
by Pop-Crack-Snap
Summary: C/W: Insanity fic. Violence. Abuse. Harry went through a lot as a child, what if he had broken? Nothing belongs to me, all characters and locations are JKR's. One-Shot


Harry opened his eyes.

The room around him was dark, covered in stains, scratches, and spiderwebs. He looked up and saw, scrawled in the wall above the tiny door, the words "Happy Birthday, Harry". He got up off of the small cot and managed to slide himself out of the entrance, wincing backwards slightly at a creak in the house, before realizing that there was no one to make a creak anymore. The Dursleys had long since moved away.

Walking through the house, he repeated his old routine, glancing into doors and hallways, and seeing the memories that haunted every inch of the house.

_Harry was 5, and Aunt Petunia had decided that it was "Well past time he learned to earn his keep in our house."_

_No one mentioned that Harry had already taken over the majority of the chores in the house, and so Harry was learning to cook._

_By the fifth time that the boy had burned the eggs that he had been trying to make, he could feel the anger coming off of his Aunt, which was never a good sign. _

"_Stop, stop, stop. You think I'm stupid?" his aunt asked. _

"_A-Aunt Pe-" Harry stammered nervously_

"_Shut up, freak! You think that if you damage the food, you can eat it, right?" Petunia cried, advancing on her nephew, who stumbled over his feet and fell backwards._

"_N-No! I'm tr-trying my h-hardest!" Harry cried out._

"_If you think you can eat our food, being the freak you are," Aunt Petunia ranted, ignoring Harry's pleas, "Then TAKE IT!"_

_With those words, Aunt Petunia swung the red hot pan at her nephew's face, sending him flying across the room, and then into a wall. _

_As Harry faded into unconsciousness, his last sight was his Aunt looking triumphantly down on him._

Harry shuddered and walked out of the kitchen, following the now well-worn path to the staircase. When the staircase came into sight, Harry was struck by another memory.

_An 8 year old Harry was running away from his cousin. For such a tubby kid, Dudley sure knew how to run fast. _

_Harry had been mowing the lawn, and had failed to notice one of Dudley's new Hot Wheels in the grass. The toy exploded when the blades hit it, and the mangled body skidded to a halt at the feet of Dudley, who had just walked outside to harass Harry._

_Dudley gave a feral grin to Harry as he realized that this meant that Harry was his. _

_Harry looked back and realized that Dudley was no longer in sight. Maybe if Harry made it to the bathroom, he could hold out until Dudley had calmed down. _

_Harry ran upstairs, not noticing the shadow that his cousin cast until it was too late. He tried to skid to a stop, but ended up tripping over the last stair, sprawling to the ground. _

_Dudley came out of the shadows, walking menacingly towards Harry. Harry slowly crawled to his feet, just to feel a train hit him in the chest as Dudley swung at him._

_Harry saw a cruel smile on Dudley's face as he fell down, falling to the bottom of the stairs, before a huge CRACK sounded and all was black._

Harry walked up the stairs, numbly considering the memories that are assaulting him with every step. This was a nightly struggle for him, hearing the ghosts of memories, feeling the painless scars.

His path lead him to the end of the hall, where he opened up the door to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's bedroom.

As soon as the scent of the room washed over harry, his final memories came into place.

_It was cold, and dark. A 10 year old Harry was cuddled up on the living room couch. This was a luxury he would take whenever the family was asleep._

_All of a sudden, Harry woke up to hear an engine idling outside the house. He panicked as he realized that that was Uncle Vernon's car. Uncle Vernon coming home at 3 AM is never a good sign for the young boy._

_Once Uncle Vernon saw Harry, his face clouded over in anger, and he began yelling incoherently about sparkles, perfume, his bed, and alcohol. Aunt Petunia ad Dudley came down the stairs. Upon seeing Uncle Vernon's face covered in sparkles, Aunt Petunia exploded in anger. Dudley ran at Harry, convinced that Harry had done something._

_On that day, Harry's mind snapped, and the house suddenly grew quiet. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley fell backwards at once, their hearts seizing in identical heart attacks. _

_Harry brought his family to their beds and tucked them in, and then got started with his work. _

Every day, he would go through the same motions every day, not even noticing as the food went bad as he cooked it and left the plates out for his family.

An owl knocked its beak on the window, causing the window to swing open. He fluttered inside, dropping his missive off on the immobile shape of a young boy. The letter was addressed to Harry Potter, #4 Privet Dr, Cupboard Under the Stairs.


End file.
